Boston Bruins: 3 takeaways from Monday’s 1-0 shutout loss to the Islanders

1. Boston Bruins’ head coach Bruce Cassidy will have a tough decision to make when David Pastrnak returns.

With how some players like Frederic, Studnicka, and even Ritchie are playing right now, Cassidy will find it awfully difficult to find someone to take out of the lineup when David Pastrnak returns.

Frederic, to the surprise of some, has played his role on the fourth extremely well through the first three games. He has shown tenacity, maturity, and even has had several scoring opportunities while also setting up his line mates for chances. If he continues to play like this, Frederic will be impossible to take out of the lineup and might see a promotion instead.

Ritchie has also been playing much better than he did in his short run with the Bruins at the end of last season. He has had multiple high quality scoring opportunities from being in front of the net and has even cashed in on one of these opportunities. Ritchie’s ability to get to the dirty areas is why he found himself on the second line last night.

Although Studnicka’s time on the first line didn’t go as planned and didn’t last long, he played much better last night on the second line after being a healthy scratch last game. Being a right wing, Studnicka is the first option to come out of the lineup when Pasta returns. However, I think the team and Studnicka would be better served by taking out Wagner or even Kase depending on how he’s playing.

Right now, my two top options to come out of the lineup when Pastrnak returns are Wagner and Bjork. Although Wagner’s line has been arguably the best for the Black and Gold, he is replaceable. For Bjork, he has been inconsistent. He started off well in the first game of the season, but faded like the rest of the team. He was invisible the second game even though he started off on the first line, and was ultimately pretty good last night on the third line.

Ultimately, I think what Cassidy will have to do is go with what worked — keep the lineup the same if you won the previous game, but change something if you lost.

This type of issue isn’t a bad thing for a coach to have. It means he has options, and options are good. Every one of these guys are capable of playing in the NHL and playing in several different roles.